PREP NUGGETS : West Fork powers to 4-4 A title with a never-quit attitude
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
I don’t get out of the office much, but I did have the pleasure of covering the Arkansas high school football season opener this year.
The heavily publicized Simmons First/Hootens.com Kickoff Classic was unique in that it was held on the Tuesday night prior to the high school openers at Bentonville High School’s football palace. The remnants of Hurricane Gustav began to pelt the field at Tiger Stadium with rain well before kickoff, an omen of things to come.
The first game of the scheduled doubleheader — Greenland vs. West Fork — opened with a bang as the Pirates ran the kickoff back 88 yards for a score.
Then fans got their first look at the West Fork offense. I can remember thinking how crisp and efficient the Tigers’ passing game looked.
Quarterback Daniel Holiday moved well in the pocket, rolling out to find targets like Logan Genz, Lee Gaesswitz, Isaac Muggy and Tyler Dewitt. The ball was leaving Holiday’s hands on time and the receivers were where they needed to be.
It was clear that Rodney Selph and his coaching staff had taught their charges well the ins and outs of the Spread offense.
As the game wore on, the tough running of West Fork’s Taylor Genz started to stand out. Taylor scored on a run and a pass, but I was most impressed with the play he made early in the second quarter.
After a Holiday pick, Taylor chased the Greenland linebacker 50 yards to make a touchdownsaving tackle at the 3-yard line.
Though some wet-ball turnovers against an outstanding Greenland defense spelled doom for the Tigers in the fourth quarter, Taylor Genz’s play showed the never-say-die attitude that was then brewing on the team.
“He played hard,” Selph said of Genz after the game. “We’ve just got to play better around him.”
And they did. The Tigers haven’t given up on a game since, reeling off nine straight wins since the rain-soaked opener at Bentonville.
Among those nine wins were sprinkled in more than a couple second-half comebacks. In fact, it seems that West Fork has rarely scored first but always scored last this season.
In their conference opener against Pottsville, the Tigers turned a 9-6 halftime deficit into a 18-9 victory. Holiday ran wild for 136 rushing yards and two scores, while throwing for 96 yards and another score.
Against Dardanelle in Week 6, the Sand Lizards scored early in the fourth to take a 19-14 lead. But line coach Bryan Dougan’s young offensive front opened up holes for Holiday and the Genz brothers to regain the lead. A forced fumble at their own 10-yard line late in the game again showed the Tiger’s resiliency, even with their backs against the wall.
Trailing Clarksville at halftime in Week 7, the West Fork defense pitched a shutout in the second half. Taylor Genz rushed for 204 yards and two secondhalf scores in the 33-22 win.
Now coming off a firstround playoff bye, West Fork (9-1) braces for a visit from Heber Springs on Friday. The Panthers (7-4) showed their own never-quit attitude last week, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally past Prairie Grove, 33-30, in the opening round of the Class 4 A Playoffs.
I can see Friday’s game coming down to the wire. Whichever team makes the big play late and avoids the big mistake will emerge the winner.
Right now I’ll take Holiday, the Genz brothers and the offensive line to make the big plays and earn West Fork a 27-20 win.
Joe West is the assistant sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.
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